Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long
by Tewi
Summary: Leo has a secret. Will his family ever find out what is is? And if they do will it change their lives for the better or the worse? COMPLETE! OneShot!


I know I should probably be updating A New and Old Threat but I guess I'm waiting to see if I'll get any new reviews (though I know I won't) so I'm doing this new story instead! I certainly hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: You should get professional help if you think I own the TMNT! I wish I needed professional help…

I own the 'Magick Music Place', Rosa's and the people you meet inside of it…and the band's webpage…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"I'm going out. I'll be back in time for night practice." Now this would be a normal thing to hear from the red-banded turtle but it didn't come from Raph's mouth. The two sentences were said by none other than the blue-banded turtle. It would be even stranger for the blue-banded turtle to say if he hadn't been saying it for four weeks now. In fact the other three (sometimes four when Splinter wasn't in his room meditating) mutants could predict when he was going to say it. He had been saying everyday at around eleven. Not one in the mutant family-or even April or Casey-knew what he did when he left. His ninja brother's had yet to follow him, for they were growing ever curious, but the subject had been brought up many times. In fact they would have known what the blue-banded turtle was doing when he left but Splinter had stopped them; telling them Leo would tell them of his own time. The family might be inclined to believe he was going out on patrol but Leo almost never patrolled except at night and when he did go out in morning it was because of a report on the news of something horrible like the burning of an orphanage or the beating of a child. Because Leo never listened to the news before he left this was definitely not why the eldest was going out. Plus he was forever warning his little brothers not to go out to often in daylight for chance of being caught; yet here was Mr. Cautious disobeying his own advice-or more like orders. And this continued to piss off Raph, although most anything Leo did could annoy Raph.

A throaty growl left the moody turtle's throat. "Do you realize that every time he goes out he brings his disguise-" A fedora and trench-coat like coat "He's gotta be up to something!"

Don rolled his eyes. "Well it's obvious that he's up to something Raph! What we need to know is what!"

Mikey laughed. "Now you're the one stating the obvious! And here I thought you were the smart one!" He stated with a joking twinkle in his eyes to let his brainiac brother know not to take it as an insult.

Raph growled again for what felt like the millionth time. "I don't get why sensei won't let us follow 'im! I mean, if it were anyone of us going out as regularly as fearless he'd let Mr. Perfect follow us! Leo wouldn't even have to ask!" Raph's face was now set in a snarl and Mikey, who was sitting on the same couch, scooted over…way over to the end of the couch, so far he almost fell off. Raph was fuming though so he didn't even realize. He tended to block out everything but the big stuff when he was like this.

"I quite agree Raphael." Master Splinter just happened to be one of these big things.

"Ack!" Mikey let out a girly screamed and actually fell off the couch. Don gasped in shock and panted quietly, shaking off his scare. His brother's and him may be ninja's but Splinter was a ninja master and could always manage to sneak up on them; except sometimes Leo…but that was only sometimes.

Raph on the other hand blushed and seemed to shrink into his shell a bit. "S-sensei! I didn't know you were there!" The look on Raph's face changed from ashamed to confused and surprised. "Wait a sec…did you say you agree?"

This made the other's sit up taller, interest in their eyes. Mikey got that look on his face-the one that always gave away that he was about to pull off a prank or sneak around. "Do ya mean it sensei?"

Master Splinter nodded. "But not today. It is already to late today. He will be too far to catch up with. Tomorrow though. Tomorrow when he leaves you will follow him, but carefully. He has matured in more ways than one since he studied with the Ancient One, he will be harder to follow. I have faith in your abilities though." He paused for a second and then continued, a small, barely noticeable grin on his face. The only clue to the grin was a little twitch of his whiskers when the corners of his mouth moved up for the smirk. "I have to admit I am quite curious to what Leonardo is doing when he is away. When he gets home please send him to my room." And with that Splinter retreated back into his room.

Three of his sons smiled widely at each other. "Awesome." Was all that was said (by Mike of course) before they separated to indulge in their normal activities. Only Mikey stayed where he was-to chill-watch the T.V. and play some video games. Don retreated to his lab to do who knew what. Raph predictably disappeared into the dojo to beat up on the punching bag. Though this time he was beating up the punching bag not to get rid of his anger but to let out his excitement for he didn't want Leo the enlightened to realize something was up.

True to his word Leo returned before their nightly practice. About an hour early in fact. He hung up his long, black coat and placed his hat on the top of the coat rack and without a word to his family he went off to his room and didn't reappear till it was time for dinner, which was to be followed shortly after by practice.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Not even Mikey talked much. Leo was almost always silent during dinner anyway and it was anyone's guess what he was thinking of. It was even harder to tell with his masked face. It was pretty obvious-to Splinter anyway-that the three youngest turtles were thinking of following their elder brother and no doubt daydreaming what he was up to. Splinter himself was always quiet during dinner and this one was no exception. Dinnertime was usually his time to observe his sons and enjoy their interaction. But since this wasn't happening tonight…

"Time for practice my sons. Meet me in the dojo in five minutes." With that Splinter got up, carefully placed his dishes in the sink and went to wait for his sons.

Leo was the first to rise. Following his sensei's example he carefully set his plate and cup in the sink and stalked out of the kitchen. Once he left the remaining mutants let out a sigh of relief. Mikey was always one to tell secrets just because it was in his social nature. He was having quite a bit of trouble keeping this one from Leo. He smiled at his brothers. "I don't think he suspects a thing."

This earned a glare from Raph and an eye roll from Don. Raph stood and spoke. "Well don't ruin it Mikey! What if he hears you?" he didn't really want an answer and in any case didn't wait for one. He slammed his dishes in the sink, almost breaking the cup and actually cracking the plate. He didn't even stop to apologize for almost ruining what little dishes they had.

Once again Don had to roll his eyes. "Great one Mikey! If Raph breaks one more plate or cup this month I will hold you personally accountable. Now, you better get to the dojo. If you're late one more time who knows what kind of punishment Splinter will come up with! He's getting pretty creative and one of these times you're going to be sorry!" he too left without waiting for a reply from the jokester but unlike his temperamental sibling he made sure that his dishes received no damage when he gently placed them in the sink.

Mikey let out a small giggle at his brother's behavior then quickly placed his dishes in the sink too. "Just because I'm the last one here with the dishes doesn't mean I'm washing them!" he shouted. "I cooked dinner and the chef never has to wash dishes!" He then quickly hurried to find his babies-his weapon of choice: the nunchuck-and hurry to practice. Don hadn't been joking about the Splinter thing. He dreaded the day when Splinter made him do something…he shuddered. He couldn't even think of what punishment might come next. Last time, a week ago, his punishment for being late was making him clean the dishes by himself, with no video games for three days. The fun loving turtle didn't want for Splinter to take away his T.V. and games for longer. He thought he'd die for those three days, though his brother's probably had it worse-having to listen to bored Mikey and having to deal with his pranks. With this thought fresh in his mind he moved even quicker-not being able to bare the thought of all the boredom. And what if he wasn't allowed to follow Leo tomorrow? That would be just horrible!

Luckily for Michelangelo he wasn't late…which meant he would still get to follow Leonardo tomorrow! Unless he did something to screw up tonight…he seriously hoped he didn't.

Practice wasn't any different than usual; unless you count the fact that the three youngest turtles were more distracted than usual. It really wasn't noticeable in Mikey since he was always a bit distracted during practice. Don too was always a bit absentminded since he was always itching to get back to whatever he was currently working on in his lab. Tonight he was considerably more distracted though, almost forgetting to bow at the beginning of practice. Raph, a bit surprisingly, was almost always the most focused out of the three youngest siblings. Tonight though he was worse than Mikey, excited at the idea that he was finally going to get to actually bust his so called perfect big brother in something! For this particular night practice Master Splinter had chosen to have his four teenage sons spar all together; meaning that it would be all four against each other. Leo usually won these anyway, but tonight he was having trouble believe how easy it was. With his brothers so distracted he didn't even have to try. It took the eldest all of two minutes to knock down all three of his brothers. He frowned but for the moment held his tongue. He was hoping that his beloved Sensei would say something but unfortunately he didn't. Splinter knew that there was no point in trying to calm down his three youngest so he just left that as that. He put them through some more exercises when he realized that sparring tonight would be impossible. He soon realized that the three youngest were in no shape to do any kata's either. He gave a mental sigh and dismissed his sons for the night, much to Leo's disappointment, though he did say he wished they would do better in their morning practice-with a slight glare towards his distracted sons; hoping they would get the message:

If you don't I won't let you follow Leo! Though Splinter knew he wouldn't follow up on that particular threat.

Leo sighed as he watched his brothers and mentor exit the dojo. He was suspicious but pushed his suspicions to the back of his mind and decided to practice. When he was finally finished and decided to call it a night he was surprised to see that none of his family members were to be seen. Surprised that they had all called it an early night he was sure that something was definitely up. On the way to his room he checked Don's lab: no Don. He checked Don's room. To his surprise there was Don; sleeping soundly. Checking his other two brother's bedroom he found the same scene. Too tired and wore out from his training session to try and solve this mystery he quietly crept to his room and fell asleep as soon as his light green head hit the soft pillow, sleeping a troubled sleep full of dreams that had to do with his brothers. He dreamt that they found out his secret, that they watched him kill Sensei and then disowned him, that they killed Sensei, they killed him, they gave him to the new shredder-Karai, just so they could live, that only himself was left after his families massacre, and failing them in different ways.

The blue wearing turtle woke up in a cold sweat at about 4:30 a.m. He groaned; knowing it was useless to try and go back to sleep. Even if he could manage it he'd just have more nightmares. He knew he was stressed and he knew why. That's why he had had those awful dreams. He was excited at what was going to happen but it was raising his stress levels to a whole new level, never before experienced to him. Deciding it was useless to just lay there he got up to make himself some green tea and maybe practice a bit.

At 6:40 he woke his brother's up. It was the time he had always woken them up. It gave them enough time to wake up and have a bit of breakfast before morning practice. Usually Mike made breakfast but today Leo had. Since Leo had woken up early and got some practice in he had decided to not totally wear himself out so he quit and made breakfast. Despite the fact that most thought he couldn't cook he actually could. Not as well as Mike but he wasn't totally helpless in the kitchen either. He had just simply made sausage and biscuits-you know, with the gravy that you can heap on the biscuits.

Morning practice went just as well as night practice and once again the ninja brothers were dismissed early, this time not as much to the dismay of the eldest. This time the eldest didn't stay to train some more but instead went to his room. The three youngest shared a glance. Before he left Leo always went up to his room to get his bag that none of them knew was in it, except for Leo of course-as it was his bag. They shared a grin and went to act like they were doing their usual activities. This meant that Raph, who sometimes shut himself in his room and sometimes stayed after to beat on the punching bag, stayed in the dojo to pretend he was beating the crap out of the punching bag. Raph had decided he would stay in the dojo so the others wouldn't have to fetch him when Leo left. Don went to his lab, but instead of working on his project, which usually he would eagerly rush to his lab to work on, sat by the door and used his x-ray goggles-that Mikey or any of his other family members for that matter knew about-to see when Leo would leave. Lastly Mikey went to the T.V. set. Usually he played video games but he knew if he did he would get to into it to follow Leo. So instead he chose channel surfing.

Five minutes later when Leo was still up in his room Mikey landed on the news. He was about to change it but decided to see if there was anything good.

"Tomorrow the brand new band: Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long will have their first C.D. in stores tomorrow! It is a long awaited occasion and predicted to be the hottest new band this year!"

The blonde-haired girl next to the redheaded newscaster who had just spoke continued for him. "The long awaited C.D. is called The Cage Broke Down features sixteen songs with titles as interesting as the band's and C.D.'s name. Per request of many of the bands fans we tried to interview one of the band's member's but sadly when we finally contacted one we were turned down."

"It is a shame , it is a shame. There have been no news of any concerts but we suspect there will be soon."

Mary, the blondie, nodded. "On to other news…"

Mike drowned out the rest and shouted to his brothers. "HEY GUYS! LISTEN TO THIS! THERE'S THIS NEW BAND AND THEY CALL THEMSELVES NINA PIGIONS COOPED UP TOO LONG! NOW THAT'S A STRANGE NAME! MAYBE EVEN STRANGER THAN BOWLING FOR SOUP!"

Mike got no reply but Leo had come down from his room-bag in hand. "Where did you hear that Mike?"

Mike shrugged nonchalantly. "On the news. It was predicted to be a **HUGE** hit!" he emphasized huge in his voice and with his hands-pulling them apart from each other to show a long distance-to show that it was supposed to be really, really big. "What an awesome name! If I ever have a band I'm gonna call it sumthin' funny like that-to make people laugh!"

Leo just gave a small chuckle for reply. "I'll be back before night practice. I'll probably miss dinner though so don't wait up or keep anything for me!" he announced to anyone that was listening; hopefully Master Splinter had been listening, though he probably already knew since he had been going out for a couple of weeks now. He supposed he should stop going so much or his family would follow him one of these times! Without waiting for a reply he was gone, wearing his trench coat and hat.

Simultaneously the three turtles jumped up at ready. Mikey leaped over the couch, Raph suddenly appeared from the dojo, and Don sprung out of his lab. Mikey looked a bit surprised at Don's sudden appearance: how had he known to come out-he didn't think he could have heard Leo's announcement but Raph paid no attention to Don. Raph just shouted to Splinter. "We're goin' after Fearless now!" And with that he and his brothers silently left the lair.

Splinter let out a relaxed sigh as he heard the lair door silently shut. The lair was quiet at last. Now he could catch up on his soaps!

"Where did he go?" Mikey whispered frantically. Five minutes out of the lair and they had already lost Leo. "We can't lose him! We can't! Now we'll never know what he does when he leaves!" he continued to whine. Leo had definitely gotten better since his return from the Ancient One. Raph hit his younger brother on the back of his head. "Shut it!"

Don cleared his throat; getting his younger brother's attention. "Hello! Have we forgotten who I am? I do plan ahead you know…" he hinted that not all hope was lost.

Mikey immediately perked up. Raph raised his eyebrow in a silent: Well? Don grinned happily.

"Well, you know that the shell cells have trackers in them right?" he didn't really need an answer but his two brothers nodded anyway. Raph was about to interrupt him but Don continued. "And ya'll know that Leo doesn't take it but he takes his emergency button with him?" The emergency button was something that Don had just recently made and hadn't come up with a cool name for it yet. You couldn't make calls on it but you pressed it when you didn't have time to call and it sent out a signal to the other shell cells. It turned on all the shell cells so Don could (or anybody else if it was Don in trouble) immediately track the one in trouble. Luckily they hadn't had to use it yet. "Well…" Don was immensely enjoying keeping his younger brothers in suspense. When he saw Raph opening his mouth; probably to say get on with it-he continued. "I managed to grab his emergency button and place a new tiny tracker in it. I've only made one but I can easily duplicate it so I can place one in all the emergency buttons! But I did test it in the lair-when he was in his room the tracker told me that! So, we can now track him!" He beamed at his brothers.

Mikey's face lit up like it was Christmas morning. He clapped Don on the back. "Great job Donny-boy!" Raph just stared at him, in shock. Then he chuckled.

"Never knew you were so tricky Brainiac!" Don blushed at the compliment and took out the tracking device. Without another spoken word they moved on, following the blinking dot on the screen.

Mikey whistled in amazement at the building across the street…the one Leo had walked into. "Let's get a closer look!" he immediately said-once over his shock. Predictably Raph bapped him on his noggin.

Don shook his head at his irresponsible siblings and studied the building. It was pretty regular sized, painted a lime green on the outside. The sign above it said 'Magick Music Place'. There were no windows, unless you counted the two, almost unnoticeable, tiny windows near the top. The door was one that you'd see in a movie about midevil times. It was wooden with big metal pieces across it and a big, black doorknob. There was a small square near the top of the door that could slide open so you could see who was on the other side. "Now who would make a building look like that?" he murmured to himself. At first it had surprised Don. He hadn't a clue of what the building could be. But he realized now and he voiced his surprise out-loud. "He walked into a music studio."

He got blank looks from his brothers, which quickly turned to surprise. Mikey spoke up before Raph had a chance. "You mean Leo just walked into a building where they record music? It can't be!" he said in shock. Raph joined in.

"No way Fearless could evah walk into a place like that!"

Don grinned. "I think he just did."

Without being able to take a closer look as they surprisingly had no binoculars to look through the window and it would seem weird to peer into a window that tall, even if they could reach it, they left to go back to the lair. By the time they got back Splinter had finished the last of his soaps and was once again in his room. Donny immediately closed himself in his lab to research information on the strange building Leo had walked into.

Typing in 'Magick Music Place' on google he only had to wait a second as 530,000 results popped up. 'Magick Music Place; this odd shop was bought and fixed up like that by Dajana…' 'Newly popped up…Dajana gathered members for her band…' 'Dajana strangely fixed the…no reason behind it…' and tons more. Don clicked on the first one.

'Where the small restaurant Rosa's used to stand now is home to the music recording building: Magick Music Place. Rosa's was really getting no business and was only too happy to sell it to eighteen-year-old Dajana. For no apparent reason Dajana painted it lime green and put a midevil dungeon door on it, with only two small, fairly useless windows near the top. She then proceeded to gather some friends-or so it seems to the public-to create a band. The newly formed band has been together for at least four weeks now and they call themselves the Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long! Surprisingly they are already going to sell their first C.D. tomorrow! The name of the C.D. is The Cage Broke Down. No one knows much about this mysterious band but they are expected to be great! Fans who haven't even heard their stuff yet but love the mysteriousness of it are hoping that the Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long will perform a concert and are planning to camp out at any store that they know will carry The Cage Broke Down so they can finally hear the long awaited music.

Dajana is the only band member we know the name of. People seen going into that building include a teenage boy with reddish brown hair, a teenage girl with black hair, and a mysterious person in a trench coat and fedora. Of course all of these people disappear inside the building too fast to really get any more details about them and oddly no one had been able to catch anyone leave the building.

Hopefully once the C.D. is finally released tomorrow we will be able to gather more information on this already smash hit band. Check in weekly, or even daily for more updates.'

Don gasped. The mysterious trench-coated figure…. That could be no mere coincidence. He had to see what his brothers and master thought! He quickly glanced at the clock hanging on his wall. There was still plenty of time before Leo would arrive home. He just couldn't believe this! This was big!

He scrambled out of his lab and quickly called a family meeting-without Leo of course. He shoved the paper in the hands of the first one there: Raphael. "Read this! You are not going to believe this!"

Two seconds later Mikey showed up, closely followed by Master Splinter. Mike hopped impatiently from foot to foot while waiting for Raph to finish reading. Splinter's whisker's twitched in annoyance but he knew it would be useless to tell his energetic son to stop; he would just start to do some other annoying habit.

Raph looked up, his eyes wide as saucers. "Nah…it, it couldn't be!" The paper was limp in Raph's limp hands and Mikey eagerly snatched it away, and read it out loud so his Sensei could hear the news too.

When he was done there was a dumbfounded silence, which Mikey finally broke, disbelief clear in his voice. "You're saying that Leo is part of the band Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long?"

When Leo finally arrived home, missing dinner like he said but just in time for nighttime practice, his family was still in shock but didn't give away that they knew anything.

It was clear to Leo that something was up but he was just too happy to care. He had had a great time out and was glad that his siblings were not as distracted as the night and morning practices before. Though Raph was more violent than usual, taking out his anger in sparring at Leo doing such a thing when he advised his siblings against it. Splinter had stuck to one-on-one sparring, where winner fought winner. Raph easily won his match against Don (with his fury) and Leo just as easily against Mikey (whose distracting tactics didn't work).

It was Raph against Leo now and it was a fierce battle. Leo was actually having trouble with Raph who was just completely rage bound. Leo's endurance was helping him though, helping dodge punch after kick. He was on the defense and he knew he had to switch to offense soon or his endurance would fail him.

They had been battling for half-an-hour. Splinter had tried to get the two to stop several times now but his rash, hotheaded son was too furious to hear him and Leo could not just stop and allow Raph to beat him up. Splinter was at a loss to do except let them fight it out, hoping Raph would not give away that they now knew Leo's secret. The red-wearing turtle often blurted out whatever without thinking before hand, especially when he was this mad.

Don and Mikey both stared at the match with wide eyes. Neither was able to say anything or move from their spots. They were just to focused on the sparring match.

Leo was wearing down and would quickly collapse. Even if he was as good as he was he had not been able to beat through the angry turtle's defense. He had heard his master's commands of 'STOP' but couldn't because Raph would just not back down. He knew he had to stop this soon but couldn't think of a way how.

Raph hadn't even said anything to him, just growled his throaty growl. And then Leo saw it. The opening. Raph took to long to swing his sai around. He had so much pent up rage that he swung to far back and didn't have control back yet. Leo quickly kicked his foot up in his brother's sensitive armpit. Raph was caught off guard and lost his balance. Leo squatted and preformed a low kick, effectively sweeping the temperamental turtle off his feet. So fast that untrained eyes wouldn't have been able to follow him he was on top of Raph-pinning his arms and legs down with his own legs while placing his katana under Raph's throat.

Raph immediately snapped out of his rage and Splinter announced the match was over. Leo calmly let Raph, who quickly disappeared to his room without an apology, up.

Leo looked confusedly at his remaining brothers. "What the heck was that all about?" All the purple and orange wearing turtles could do was shrug, even though they knew very well what the heck was up with Raph.

The next morning was Saturday and Splinter had cancelled practice. They would still have night practice but Splinter thought it would be nice to cancel morning practice at least for his sons.

Leo had already gotten up and wouldn't have stayed in bed anyway. Don got up around 8:00 and disappeared into his lab, after a bit of breakfast. Mikey got up at 10:30 and sat on the old sofa, a bowl of soggy coco puffs, looking for something good on T.V. Raph didn't get up till 2:45 and then he still complained. He went up to the garage to work on the shell cycle, and go out with Casey later-unless Casey had a date with April already.

Everyone but Leo acted normal the whole day. Leo was excited and jumpy, a bit nervous. He kept pacing for no reason and would sit on the couch with Mikey only to jump back up two seconds later. Mikey couldn't keep from grinning at Leo's actions. Leo was usually able to hide his feelings and emotions pretty well but Mike knew exactly why he was so hyper today. Today his bands first C.D. went out on the market. Mikey almost wanted to say something to calm him down like-it's supposed to be a big hit-but that would give away that he knew…and that couldn't happen.

Mikey landed on the news and saw that it was about Leo's band. "Hey Leo! You know that band with the weird name? Lookit this!"

Leo immediately came over and settled on the side chair, though through Mikey's peripheral vision he could see Leo's knee's steadily bouncing up and down.

The same redheaded and blonde newscasters from yesterday were on. Once again the redhead started.

"Fans all over the country are lining up to buy the long awaited C.D. hit: The Cage Broke Down! People everywhere are listening to it! It seems the odd little band is indeed living up to the prophecy. They are a huge hit!"

Here the blonde woman spoke up. "Yes. Now the people definitely want a concert! We, however, have heard no news about a concert yet but are hoping for one. For those of you who haven't been able to hear any songs by Ninja Pigeon Cooped Up Too Long we have a small sample here for you."

Then soft music came on, growing louder and louder and suddenly Mike could hear Leo's deep and mysterious voice. Mikey saw Leo's eyes bug out but pretended not to notice that it was Leo's voice. He could hear drums and bells and guitars…and Leo's voice. Then some sounds played that he had no idea what they could be but it didn't matter to Mike who bobbed his head and tapped his two toes' to the beat. The music sounded great! No wonder people all over the country were listening to it!

The newscasters came on again and the redhead spoke.

"That was just a small sample of the already famous band's music! If you want to hear more or would like to purchase a C.D. go to http/www.caughtoffguardninja. had already drowned them out, after quickly memorizing the website of course, and turned to his jumpy brother. "Wow, I'm impressed-they sound good! Think I might try to buy a C.D. …" Mikey enjoyed torturing his elder brother in this way…and who could blame him?

He didn't get to torture him any more though for the phone rang. Leo jumped up faster than a jackrabbit and answered it. Mike just stared at the chair Leo had just occupied, impressed his brother could move that fast. Mikey's mind hadn't even comprehended the fact that the phone had rung until a second after Leo had answered it. Mikey smirked and leaned back in the couch; to eavesdrop.

"Yeah!...I saw it!...No I can't!...Yeah…yeah…yeah…no way!...awesome…I don't think so….no they don't…yeah it would…sounds great…NO!...I just can't!...you know that won't happen…okay…yeah, sorry…maybe….okay. Bye!"

Mikey sat in confusion at a total loss of words. His brother had tortured him back. He had gained no information through that one-sided conversation! Too bad he couldn't have heard who was on the other line! Before his brother escaped to his room though Mikey innocently asked, "Who was that?"

Mikey could have sworn he saw his older brother start to sweat. "Uh, um, no one really." And he disappeared before Mikey could question him further.

Up in his room, time slowly, agonizingly passed for Leo. He heard Raph come in and guessed that Casey had indeed had a date with April and Raph had nothing else to do. Finally coming to a decision he slowly, ever so slowly opened his door and walked down the stairs…where he called a family meeting.

He stood in front of his family, the two youngest siblings fidgeting impatiently. Don too was impatient but he hid it better, wanting to finish his other little, tiny trackers but wanting more to hear what Leo had to say. Splinter was impossible to read and quite frankly Leo didn't try to read him this time. Usually Leo would try just to see if he was getting any better at it but his time he lowered his head, closed his eyes and blurted out his confession.

"I'minaband." The words left his mouth so fast he half hoped his family wouldn't hear what he had just said. Mikey deciphered what he had said first-since he often spoke so fast his words blended together in the same way as Leo's just had.

He grinned knowingly. "We know. We were just wondering how long it would take you to tell us." With this statement the rest of the family could guess what Leo had just said.

Realization dawned on Leo. He had thought he was being followed yesterday. He grinned a relieved little grin to his family. "Are you mad?"

Raph sighed. "Well, I was. For a lot of reasons, but none of them good…now I just sorta think…it's kinda cool. The music sounds really good, uh, Mikey showed me some…" he drifted into an uncomfortable silence.

Mikey smiled his trademark smile. "You know me! I personally think it's awesome! Though I'm sad I don't have a band…and hurt you went behind my back like that!" He said it with a joking twinkle in his eye and was rewarded with a small chuckle form Leo.

Don looked his brother in the eye. "Nah, though I'm am curious how you got into the band. From what I know the girl who founded the band gathered friends…" he trailed off, hoping Leo would fill the rest in.

Splinter spoke last. "I give you my blessing my son. If it makes you happy to participate in this band then continue to do so. Just do not skimp on your studies."

Leo looked at him in alarm. "Never Sensei! I love this band as much as ninjitsu!" He looked at his family. "Now let me explain a few things." Don beamed at this. "Sometimes I used to go out and sing while on rooftops. I was so absorbed in my singing one time I didn't notice that I wasn't alone. It was Dajana-the band founder-and she loved my voice. It didn't matter to her weather I was mutant or not. Right there and then she asked if I would be in her band. At first I turned her down but she actually got down on her knees and pleaded until I gave in. The next day when I arrived at the band's place the other members showed some surprise but didn't go into shock or anything. They accepted me pretty readily. Dajana had already explained about me. The other's names are Jaron and Pax. I sing and sometimes do a bit of guitar. Dajana does drums, bells, clavie, and an assortment of other strange instruments. Jaron does guitar, sometimes keyboard and back up sings. Pax does saxophone and tuba and she sometimes back up sings. Dajana will also add her voice sometimes but usually she is to busy for that." Leo paused to take a deep breath and study his families' reaction. He noticed their surprised looks when he mentioned he did guitar but he continued before anyone could get any comments in. "We sorta celebrated yesterday but Dajana wants to have a real celebration since we really are a hit…and she wants you guys to come to. I promised I'd come even if I didn't bring you guys…"

There was a brief moment of silence…then Mikey. "YAY! Can we Sensei?"

Ever since that moment when Splinter said yes Leonardo knew his family was really, totally, 100 behind him being in the band. Everyone had a great time at the party and Leo continues to go and Ninja Pigeons Cooped Up Too Long is spreading to other continents and everyday more and more people are becoming fans of N.P.C.U.T.L. Although at times Leo's brother's wish they were as lucky to be in a band they support Leo's decision to be in the band and had no idea what fate had in store for them. Recently Michelangelo published a novel and two comics. He has started his own comic series, which is quite popular. Don found a scientist who he can send his inventions and mathematical formulas and who never asks why she can never see him. The patents are under his name and even though not seen, he is finally getting some recognition. Raph came up with a whole new style of motorbikes that are selling at a dangerously fast pace. Casey proposed to April…and she accepted. They have a little boy, which they named David Jacob. Splinter surprisingly came up with a new line of incense and candles that are also doing well.

The mutant families luck has gone up ever since Leo decided to take a chance and actually do something: joined a band! They still fight crime and right wrong doings. They still spend time together as a family. They still train under Master Splinter. But now, they have actual lives!

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

So, how was it? I know the ending was a little weird, but I like it! And there is a moral to this story: Don't be afraid to step into the light and accept who you really are!

But, glad this is finished! Longest story/chapter I've written yet (13 pages)! I'm so proud!

Anyway…hope you enjoyed it! Please review! Reviews are appreciated! And before I get out of your hair I want to say, even though this wasn't an April Fool's day story: APRIL FOOLS DAY! and, what does OC mean?

So that's it! And once again-please REVIEW!

REVIEW REVEW REVIEW


End file.
